Avalanche at French ski resort traps skiiers on lifts (VIDEO)

In a separate rescue, French gendarmes used a helicopter to evacuate people from a telecabin in the French ski resort of Alpe d'Huez on February 11, 2012.

An avalanche rolled through a ski resort in the Savoy Region of France on Sunday, leaving skiers dangling on chair lifts awaiting rescue.

Pylons supporting the lifts at the St Francois-Longchamp resort were damaged in the avalanche, which was reportedly 500 yards long and 26 feet deep by the time it came to rest, according to one report.

According to Planetski.com, the lift attendant at the bottom saw the avalanche coming and stopped the lift when the pylons began to buckle.

Seventy people were on the lift, with many airlifted by helicopter to safety, the website wrote.

Captain Cyril Anceau, CRS Alps commander, told the French broadcaster M6: "There was the risk of another avalanche so we wanted to avoid bringing the people down, on the ground to stop them being swept way by another avalanche."